What is a tomato: is it a berry or a vegetable?

Tomatoes or tomatoes are a well-known food plant. Fresh in salads, salted, pickled, as well as scrambled eggs, other dishes. .. And what kind of soup without tomatoes? We are all accustomed to this vegetable. But is this a vegetable. .. Let's see, , what is a tomato - a berry, a vegetable or a fruit ?

Is it a berry, vegetable or fruit?

In 1883, there was even a lawsuit in the USA that went down in history as “Knicks v. Hedden” , in which it was found out whether a tomato is a vegetable or a fruit.

Sources say that vegetables are the edible parts of grassy plants, ( fruits, roots, others), and fruits are the juicy fruits of woody plants. Therefore, tomato, carrot, potatoes are vegetables, and apples, plums, pears are fruits.

Although until 1705 there was no “fruit” concept in Russia. All edible parts of garden plants, including woody plants, were called vegetables, ovoshtami.

Berries are called the succulent fruits of grassy or woody plants( shrubs, trees) of small size. The meaning of the word “berry” in the conventional sense and as a botanical term is different.

Compote, jams, jams, and jam are made from the berries( in the conventional sense), as well as from fruits. The last statement, according to the author, is important for separating fruits and berries from vegetables.

If jam from vegetables is also boiled, though less often, then compotes - never.

Traditionally, tomatoes belong to vegetables. According to the above definition, they are also vegetables, as these plants are herbaceous. From a botanical point of view, this is the berry.

The truth about tomato:

Place of vegetable in the systematics of plants: what family does the

belong to? At present botanists belong to the genus Solanum , although earlier tomatoes and nightshade were in different genera, it belonged to the genus Lycopersicon, in which it was selected9 species.

But it turned out that not all natural descendants of tomatoes belong to this genus. Therefore, plants of the genus Lycopersicon were attached to the genus Solanum.

The botanical family Nightshade belongs to the family of the Solanaceae. The tomato has all the features of this family of : simple leaves, their next leaf location, regular flower shape, fruit - berry( there is also a box in the Solanaceae; for example, in henbane or dope).

The correct botanical name is edible tomato or edible tomato .Other names: Tomato is real, cultural, ordinary.

In Russia, they often adhere to the old classification, attributing vegetable to the genus Lycopersicon. Such a name can be found in the Planterium online plant identifier.

In it, the Latin name is designated as Lycopersicon esculentum Mill , and not as in the international classification Solanum lycopersicon .

Nowadays, botanists attribute tomato to the Solanum genus.

. How is the tomato fruit

properly called? Why is tomato considered a fruit? From the traditional, narrow-minded point of view, , as already mentioned, tomato is a vegetable.

But for most people it's just tomatoes, or tomatoes. And this is also correct.

Actually, the correctness of the name is a relative thing and depends on the sense in which it will be used. Botanists have their own terms, culinary specialists, for example, have different terms.

When describing recipes for dishes, the botanical classification of fruits is not important, they write: “5 kg of tomatoes” or “3 tomatoes”.

From a botanical point of view, the fruit of a plant is a berry and has all of its characteristics.

The benefits and harms of tomato

They have a diverse chemical composition. They contain carotenoids, a complex of vitamins of group B, and also vitamins C, P, K .

Of the nutrients in them a lot of potassium, magnesium, chlorine, phosphorus, calcium .Other important chemical elements are present( sulfur, iron, copper, sodium, manganese, etc.).

Sweetness of the fruits give their constituent sugars. Tomatoes are also contained in pectic substances, proteins, organic acids, and fiber.

The tomato carotenoid complex includes lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant .It reduces the risk of atherosclerosis, cancer and cataracts.

These berries improve digestion, have a choleretic effect. They are useful as a vitamin remedy, as well as for obesity, atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart failure, those with poor eyesight, cataracts began to develop. Fresh tomato juice helps dissolve gallstones.

The phytoncidal properties of have also been found in the fruit of the plant, thanks to which the fruits pounded into gruel are used to heal purulent wounds and ulcers.

The program “To live healthy!” Will tell you about the benefits of tomato:

But not all of these vegetables are possible. First of all, this applies to those who have an allergy or intolerance to them.

There is an opinion that these vegetables contribute to the deposition of salts( especially oxalates).This is not entirely true.

Studies have shown that oxalic acid in them is extremely small , so they can not particularly affect the processes of oxalic stone formation. The issue with the fact that they are contraindicated in gout is controversial.

The benefits and harms of tomatoes from the program “About the Most Important”:

The History of the Emergence of

The Homeland of Tomatoes - South America .There they still grow wild. In Europe, these plants were in the sixteenth century, but then they were considered decorative and even poisonous.

In Russia, they appeared in the 18th century. in the Crimea, from where they spread throughout the territory. But they became a well-known culture only in the nineteenth century.

Now there are many varieties of tomatoes with different shapes and colors of fruits. You can find varieties from yellow to orange, from pink to maroon.

And there are even varieties whose fruits remain green .The size of the crop varies in a very wide range - from small cherry trees to large ones weighing 400-500 g.

Homeland of tomatoes is South America, they became a well-known culture only in the nineteenth century

the future President of the United States, George Washington, because then they were considered poisonous.

The name “tomato” goes back to the Italian name of this plant “pomodoro”( “golden apple”), and “tomato” to the Aztec “tomato”.

In the city of Kamenka-Dneprovskaya, which is located in the Dnieper Region in Ukraine, there is a monument to “Glory to Tomato”.

So, from a botanical point of view, the fruit of a plant is .For cooks and most people, a tomato is a vegetable.

It is used to make first and second courses, side dishes, salads, some make jam from it, but never put it in compotes. Therefore, a tomato is not a berry or a fruit.

Tomatoes are useful and loved by many .However, there are contraindications to the use of "berries" that you should know.